Amygdala
by xSpacePrincess
Summary: A River and Chekov one-shot. River Tam has been aboard the USS Enterprise for some time now and has become taken with a certain Russian genius. He's unsure of what her feelings towards him are, so River tries to tell him. (Was initially part of my Riolozhikaik world, but now it's a standalone).


_**Author's Note:**_ _Okay, so, a few years ago (2013 to be more exact) I was in a one on one roleplay / conjoined fanfic thing with my best friend. It was sparked by my writing a Star Trek fanfiction involving an OC who was Jim's twin sister. And that would be my Riolozhikaik story that I am now publishing. However, there was another part of the roleplay where I thought it would be cool to incorporate River Tam from Firefly, because at the time I was completely obsessed with Firefly and River was my favorite. It then sparked one of my favorite crossover ships of all time. River and Chekov. Now, I don't think I'll incorporate this into the fanfic that I'm rewriting now,_ _ **but**_ _I thought I might as well share some River and Chekov cuteness. Because I love them. (I also think I posted this on tumblr back when I wrote it, but I'll just repost it here too because I can). Anyway, enjoy!_

 **Amygdala.**

River enjoyed wandering around the ship. It gave her some time to herself, and it allowed her to explore. She liked trying to find hiding places; there were many. She and Keenser had become close friends, bonding over their love of hiding places after the initial shock of his green, stony face - which had made River scream. Now she liked it. It was neat. It was different, like her. Keenser was busy right now, so he couldn't play, leaving River to herself.

"Hello River, having a fun day?" Captain James T. Kirk asked as he met her in the hall. She stopped walking - that's what you were supposed to do when someone talked to you. You stopped walking and contributed to the conversation.

"Yes, thank you Captain James T. Kirk," River nodded. Jim laughed, shaking his head in amusement. River tilted her head, wondering what was so funny. Had she told a joke? She was sure she hadn't.

"You do not have to call me that. Jim works just fine," he informed her. She nodded, understanding now.

"Okay, Jim. I shall call you Jim, but then you should call me Mistress Goddess River Tam of Osiris." She told him. He stared at her, blue eyes somewhat wide in shock. A smirk wormed its way onto her face. "That was a joke, Cap- _Jim_. You are supposed to laugh."

James snorted. "You are interesting indeed, Mistress Goddess River Tam of Osiris. I need to be getting back to the bridge," he told her, though he hesitated to walk off, "I believe Chekov is off duty, at the moment. Might be resting in the rec room."

River cocked her head to the side. "And how do you know I was wondering of his whereabouts?"

"You are not the only mind reader, River. Enjoy your day." With that, Jim disappeared. River paused, contemplating whether or not Jim could _actually_ be a mind reader, before skipping off in the direction of the rec room.

" _Pashenka_!" She called out in a singsong voice as she entered the rec room. She could hear him in here, the stars and equations of his mind. She leaned over the back of the couch, staring down at the young navigator. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady, suggesting that he was asleep. "Паша, проснись!" _Pasha, wake up!_ She told him loudly, though not quite at the level of a yell.

Chekov's eyes shot open, staring up at River. "River, plees do not do zat," he told her, gasping for breath. His face pinked over, noticing how close her face was to his.

"Why not? I wanted you to wake up. Telling you to wake up is a way to wake you up. How should I have woken you up?" River asked, blinking her big brown eyes. She moved around the couch and took a seat as Chekov slowly sat up, giving her room.

"I do not know, but not like zat. You scared me," he reprimanded.

"I am sorry. I shall try not to scare you next time." Chekov studied her. A few days prior, River had attacked him in his room. Well, maybe attacked wasn't the right word. She hadn't meant to scare him or hurt him, but she had put him in a chokehold. She had been spending a lot of time in his room lately, actually. She told him she felt more comfortable in there. Less scared of the dangers that awaited them, she told him. It had been moments after her chokehold that she had pinned him to the floor and, in a moment of curiosity, kissed him. And then she had just left. Now, he was wondering how she felt.

"When they did experiments on me, they stripped my amygdala." River spoke, breaking Chekov from his thoughts. He turned to face her. "You were wondering how I felt? Well, they stripped my amygdala. The amygdala is in control of linking emotions to memories, and mine is broken. I do not and can not remember what my feelings are. If you ask me if I loved you yesterday, I would be unable to respond. I cannot remember. I performed the motions, but the emotions are not there. Broken. Silent movies. Emotionless."

"You... are unable to link ze two?" He knew the answer, but it was hard to grasp. She could not remember if she was happy or sad or in love or angry the previous days? Chekov was learning more and more about her, and the more he learned the sadder he felt for her.

"Correct. You wish to know how I felt, and I cannot answer you that." Chekov paused, glancing down at his lap.

"And how do you feel today?" He asked after a moment, raising his eyes to look at her. He just had to know. He had to know how she felt. Maybe to help him validate his own feelings. He thought he might have said something wrong as she stood up, but she did not leave.

"Today I am happy. Today, I have had a good conversation with Jim. Today, I was able to sit with Pasha. Today I am happy." Chekov smiled slightly. He was glad she was happy, at least. "Today I am sorry. Today my heart skips beats and I think I might die of a cardiac arrest. Today my stomach feels upset, but in a good way. Today my palms got sweaty. Today I saw Pasha." Chekov's eyebrows furrowed what had she meant by this?

River leaned down and pressed a kiss to Chekov's cheek. "I will not remember tomorrow how I felt today, but tomorrow I will feel what I feel all the same. Do not fret, little Pashenka. River will know tomorrow what she does not remember today."

"Will Mistress Goddess River Tam if Osiris please report to the Bridge. We have an incoming message for you." Captain Kirk's voice echoed through the ship. River stared towards the comm for a moment before skipping off without so much as another word, leaving Chekov to sit in confusion.

 _Mistress Goddess River Tam of Osiris?_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So yeah, just a quick little fic. I don't know if I'll write much more for them, but who knows when inspiration will strike? Then again, it has been three years since I actually wrote this fic. But also, I am still very sad about Anton. So maybe that's why I'm breaking this fic back out again. I loved his Chekov. So much._

 _xoxo_


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